See the Obvious
by CuriousRuby
Summary: Everybody takes their lives for granted. Just because they can see, hear, talk, and breathe, they think they don't have to worry. I have to confess that I, Uzumaki Naruto, was once one of those people.


**So, this is (I think) my third or fourth Naruto story. My other stories are on dA, but I'm thinking of posting them on here. I just caught up with the anime for Naruto, so I thought I'd commemorate by writing a fanfic! :D**

**Disclaimer: Naruto, unfortunately, does not belong to me. It belongs to the amazing Masashi Kishimoto.**

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><p>Everybody takes their lives for granted. Just because they can see, hear, talk, and breathe, they think they don't have to worry. Death is normally at the edge of people's brains, where they don't have to think about it or even acknowledge it.<p>

I have to confess that I, Uzumaki Naruto, was once one of those people. I used to live my life, carefree, only thinking of becoming the Hokage and getting the villagers to acknowledge me. I never thought that something could happen to me and make those dreams come crashing down.

I looked out where I perceived my window to be and thought back to the day where everything changed.

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><p>"We're going to leave you, Dobe," I could hear the monotone voice of my rival, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke had only returned to Konoha a few months prior and I was honestly shocked by Tsunade-baachan's approval to have him immediately back on Team 7. Not that I was complaining, because the team finally felt complete, again. "Are you going to continue sitting there like an idiot?" I looked up from my sitting position on the grass to see Sasuke glaring at me from the tree. We were on a small mission to capture a rogue ninja that was from a different village. There were sightings of him passing by the forest near Konoha, so Tsunade-baachan dispatched Team 7 to pursue him.<p>

"I'm coming, bastard!" I yelled out, finally standing up. I had been lost in my thoughts and accidently miscalculated my landing to the next tree branch, which resulted in me tumbling down and falling on the hard ground. Lately, I had been getting into small accidents, because my thoughts always turned to Sasuke. I couldn't help but to think he could run away, again, at any moment and that thought always scared me.

I quickly joined Sasuke and we caught up with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. With the Intel we had received, we knew we were close to the criminal. After a few more minutes of running through the forest, we saw the figure ahead of us. He noticed us immediately and threw a few kunai our way. We easily dodged them and continued to run forward. I quickly did the hand signs for a Shadow Clone and we created a Rasengan. I leaped forward, planning to hit the rogue ninja's arm, but he was too fast and I hit a tree, instead.

"If you want a fight, I'll give you one," the man said in a gruff voice. He used some kind of Earth Jutsu and created a barrier around the two of us. I could hear the shouting of my teammates as they attempted to break down the wall that surrounded us. "Sorry about that, but I prefer to fight one-on-one."

I prepared to do more hand-signs, when suddenly I felt something heavy pressing against my arms. I looked down and saw that I had wood-like restraints pulling me towards the wall. I felt the wind get knocked out of me as my body slammed against the wood of the wall. I tried to free myself, but with no way to do hand-signs, I was stuck.

"Looks like I caught a fox," the rogue ninja laughed, pulling a kunai to my neck. Was I really going to die in such a pathetic way? I expected Kakashi-sensei to come crashing through the barrier at any moment, but nothing happened. Was the barrier that strong? "I don't really like killing, you know?" The man said calmly. "I think the best option is just to make you incapable to ever fight, again." I closed my eyes, expecting him to tear off my arms, but nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that he had a flute-like instrument in his hand. "This is something I designed myself. It's pretty amazing. I'm not great at explaining, so I'm just going to show you." He put his lips to the flute and I waited to hear music to come out, but nothing happened. No sound was coming out of the instrument whatsoever.

Suddenly, I saw swirls of colors flowing out of the flute. The first thought I had was how beautiful it looked. The colors grew brighter and thicker till it all smudged together into a ball. I couldn't look away, even after the brightness was too much to bear. I could feel my eyes burning, but even though the pain was horrible, I was still fascinated by the big blob of bright colors. I could see the red and yellow dancing together with the orange joining in. The ball of colors was getting bigger and more magnificent. Soon, my whole vision was only filled of the burning, bright lights. That was the last thing I saw before my whole world turned black.

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><p>I had woke up the next day in a hospital room. I couldn't see the colors anymore. I couldn't see anything anymore. Kakashi-sensei had informed me that shortly after I blacked out, they broke down the barrier and took care of the rogue ninja. The instrument that he had was used to burn out people's retinas and make them permanently blind. I stayed in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Nobody said anything, but I knew my ninja days were over. There was no way that a blind ninja was going to be accepted.<p>

Throughout my hospital stay, many of my friends came to visit me. Sakura was there every day with snacks. Kakashi-sensei visited a few times to check up on me. Tsunade-baachan was there frequently, with some kind of new test for my eyesight. Iruka-sensei was over as much as he could be and every time he demanded that I stay at his house, I refused. I wanted to be in my own house, in my own bed. I once asked where Sasuke was, wondering why he hadn't visited me. Sakura said he was sent away on a mission right after I was hospitalized. For the two weeks I was in the hospital, all I could think was I wanted to see Sasuke, but that I wouldn't be able to see his pale, sullen face anymore.

The day I was discharged, Iruka-sensei came to pick me up. He gave me a cane, saying it was a present for my quick recovery. I almost laughed at how stupid that sounded, when all I could see was blackness, but I kept my mouth shut. When we arrived at my home, he helped me up the stairs into my apartment. I was hit with familiar scents that I almost started crying. I asked Iruka-sensei to leave me alone. After a few second of arguing, he reluctantly left.

I made my way to my bedroom, stumbling along the way and hitting a wall, I finally made it to my bed. I slowly sat down on it and thought about what Sasuke could be doing.

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><p><strong>*Sasuke POV*<strong>

"Sasuke, you're back!" I heard the annoying voice of the pink-haired Sakura. I just nodded while continuing my way to the hospital. I couldn't believe that Tsunade forced me on a mission right after Naruto was hospitalized. I didn't even get to hear the results from the surgery. I was sure the blonde boy would be okay, though. Nothing could destroy the energetic annoyance. "Naruto's been released." I turned around, stunned that Sakura was following me. I had been preoccupied the last two weeks and almost failed the last mission, because of that.

"He's back home, then?" I asked, keeping my expression neutral.

"Yeah, but there's something you need to know." I waited for Sakura to continue, but she seemed distraught, like she couldn't think of the right words to use.

"Hm?" I questioned, feeling agitated.

"Naruto's eyes were damaged in our last mission," she spoke slowly, like she was carefully choosing her words.

"I know that much. Tsunade should have been able to easily fix them, though." I said, regretting, once again, that I left right before the surgery started.

"Tsunade tried her hardest, but it seems that Naruto's retinas were completely burned out and unfixable."

"You mean…" I started, feeling my heart quicken from the horror that came crashing down on me. "Naruto's blind?" I whispered.

Sakura just nodded her head and then rushed off. I noticed the tears welling up in her eyes, but all I could think about was Naruto. Naruto couldn't see? The boy, who could shine light into the darkest corners just by his smile, was now the one covered in darkness.

I quickly picked up my pace till I was full out sprinting towards the Dobe's house. I arrived at his run-down apartment in record time and was about to knock when I realized it was already 11:00pm. He was most likely already sleeping. I just needed to check up on him and make sure he was okay.

I jumped over to his bedroom window and peered in. I could see the Dobe sleeping with his head at the end of the bed. I scoffed at his ridiculous sleeping posture, when suddenly Naruto's eyes opened in alarm.

"Is someone there?" He called out, feeling his way around the dark room. Since he was already awake, I decided to make my presence known.

"I thought you were sleeping," I said as I opened the window and let myself in. Even though I couldn't see Naruto's face in the dark, I could tell he felt immediate relief from hearing my voice.

"Sasuke," he breathed out. "I heard you were on a mission?"

"Yeah, I just got back." I moved to go turn on the bedside light, when I saw Naruto reaching out for me.

"What time is it?" He asked, still moving his hands, searching for me. I slowly moved my body till my arm bumped into his right hand.

"It's 11 at night," I answered as Naruto wrapped his hand around my arm.

"Sasuke, I need you tell me something. Everyone has been dancing around the subject, but I need to know. What do I my eyes look like?" I looked over at Naruto, wondering if he had ever looked as fragile as he did then. I reached over to turn on the bedside light and looked back at Naruto. He had his eyes wide open and I wouldn't have known he was blind if Sakura didn't tell me before. The only difference was that they were slightly lighter than before and had a glazed over look to them.

"You're eyes look fine," I told Naruto, moving to sit down beside him. He didn't let go of my arm.

"Don't lie, bastard," The blonde boy said in a much more serene voice than Sasuke was used to.

"I'm not." I stared straight into his eyes, knowing he had no way of knowing of the eye contact. "They're still beautiful." The words slipped through my lips before I could stop them.

"What?" Naruto awkwardly laughed, confusion evident on his face.

"Nothing," I hurriedly replied. I felt Naruto's hand moving up my arm till he reached my face. "What are you doing?" I felt my skin getting warmer in the places Naruto had touched.

"I don't want to forget what you look like," he answered as he gently traced his fingers along my cheek and nose.

"Is your memory that bad?" I teased, but could feel my throat constricting from the contact. This was nothing like when we sparred. Naruto's touches were soft and gentle. Nobody had ever touched him like this.

"I just want to be careful. I don't know what I would do if I suddenly couldn't remember your face." I could hear the sadness in Naruto's voice and I wanted to console him, but didn't know how. I never had to deal with other people's distress before.

Instead, I asked, "Are you planning to go around and touch everyone's faces, Dobe?"

"No," was all he said in response. He continued memorizing my face in silence and I felt a calmness that I hadn't felt in a long time. I slowly closed my eyes and unconsciously leaned into Naruto's touch. I heard a snicker coming from the other boy and I opened my eyes to see Naruto smiling. "You like being touched." He said as a statement than a question. I was about to argue, feeling my pride rise in me, but Naruto spoke before I could get a word out. "When's the last time you were hugged by someone?"

I stared at Naruto in disbelief. Where had that question come from and why did it matter? Suddenly, Naruto scooted closer to me as he moved his hands down and wrapped them around my shoulders. I sat in shock as he rested his head on my chest.

"I can hear your heart beat," Naruto commented after a few seconds of silence. "It's beating pretty hard." I felt my body shaking lightly at the unusual physical connection. I could feel the warmth emitting from the other boy as he pressed himself to me.

"Why are you doing this?" My voice came out hoarse and quiet. Naruto pulled back from me and he looked in my general direction, a small smile on his lips.

"Don't you see the obvious? I didn't chase after you all those years for nothing," he chuckled lightly to himself. "I love you."

I sat there, completely dumbfounded as how to respond. The words kept twirling in my mind, but weren't connecting to my brain. "Sasuke?" I slowly looked at Naruto to see that he was scared. He couldn't see my expression, so unless I verbally announced my reaction, he wouldn't know.

"How long?" I asked, noticing that our knees were lightly touching. I had never been this conscious of someone before.

"I don't know." Naruto started wringing his hands together in a nervous fashion that was rare for him. "I realized it when you left, but I'm sure it was way before that. I've always been too scared to tell you, but since I've lost almost everything now," Naruto waved his hand in front of his eyes to show what he was indicating. "I figured I had nothing else to lose by telling you my feelings. Even though it was more spontaneous than anything." He gave a small chuckle as he put his head down. "I figured you didn't have that sort of feeling for me, but I just wanted you to know."

I let the silence stretch out as I sat there, trying to connect everything that Naruto had said. I had never thought of the blonde boy as anything more than a rival and best friend. Of course, my mind had been preoccupied with revenge for most of my life, so it never crossed my mind for any romantic possibilities. I looked Naruto over, noticing that he was waiting for a reply with a fearful expression. I realized that he was subtly rubbing our knees together to make sure I was still there.

If I had to say, I would say Naruto was cute. He had big, blue eyes that nobody could compare to and his smile was the brightest that I had ever seen. I felt the closest and the most comfortable with the hyperactive idiot and I have caught myself thinking about him a lot, lately.

"Sasuke?" I was pulled from my thoughts when the small voice of Naruto called out to me. "Are you disgusted with me?" I was startled by the question that never crossed my mind. There was no way I could be disgusted with him.

I didn't know how to answer the Dobe, though, so, instead, I leaned closer and pressed my lips to his. We had kissed a couple of times in the past, but this kiss was nothing like those. This kiss was warm and nerve-wrecking, sweet and heart-stopping. I pulled back, feeling more skittish than I ever had before.

"What was that?" Naruto asked, looking perplexed. Did he not realize that I just kissed him? It was too embarrassing to say it, so I just let it slide.

I gently picked up one his hands and lightly held it. "Naruto, no matter what, I'll be here for you. You don't have to give up your dreams just yet." I said, talking about his eyes, but maybe hinting at his feelings, also. Naruto nodded, still seeming confused, but happy nonetheless.

"Do you think I can still be the Hokage?" I nodded my head, but realizing he couldn't see that, I just quietly hummed my reply. It would take a lot of work, but I'm sure Naruto could accomplish his dreams no matter what.

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><p><strong>So, I don't know anything about eyes, so if the information seems wrong or not possible, just ignore it. XD And the kyuubi just doesn't exist in this story. (Since he would have definitely saved Naruto before he went blind) I hope you enjoyed the story and will leave a review! :)<strong>


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